Pale Male vs. Pale Female
Some field marks to tell these two hawks apart…
A 5th Avenue Couple
On Saturday, I got to see a great deal of Pale Male and his new mate. She’s being called lots of things, Pale Beauty, Pearl and Paula, but until there is some consensus, I’ll be calling her Pale Female.
Pale Male caught a pigeon. He plucked it, eat some of it and then called for Pale Female. She eat it, and when she had finished, called him to eat the remains.
Later, she was on a “Linda Building” (920 Fith Avenue, two buildings south of the nest building) window railing, when he arrived with another snack. Having both just eaten, he cached the bird on their nest, and returned to the railing where they copulated.
They sat together for about half an hour, before Pale Male left and went to roost on a tree at the bottom of Pilgrim Hill. She however remained on the railing and was still there when I left the part at 7 p.m.
As we get to know the new female, each of the 5th Avenue bird watchers were sharing tips about how to tell the two birds apart. His white/light brown throat vs. her dark throat. Her droplet like chest spots vs. his oak leaf patterned barred vertical strips. Her broken tail feather and lighter tail. His two missing primary wing tips. I’m sure we’ll find more, but I think most of us are starting to find it easier to tell them apart.
After the failed nests of the last years, we have a new variable. Will the nest work with a new female, or not? We’ll know in a few months.
Long-eared Owls Continue
Long-eared Owls continue to be seen in Central Park. Two were visible on Saturday in a tree south of their last location. It was great to see them again.
Pale Male and Mate Late On Friday
I got to watch Pale Male and his new mate go to roost on Friday. They choose different trees near the East Drive.
One of the funny things about hawk watching is explaining to tourists that hawks don’t live in their nests like Monk Parakeets, but that they perch and roost all over their territory when not actually using the nest to raise offspring. I think anyone who watches Pale Male has repeated this explanation thousands of times.
In the video Pale Male is at the bottom of the screen, and his mate above. The shots in the tree are all of the female.
Quiet Afternoon
These photographs are from Sunday. I’ve been too busy to post them earlier. It was a relaxed afternoon, with Pale Male on his nest and his new mate on a nearby building.
Owl Watching Done Correctly
On Saturday, a group of bird watchers stood carefully across the road from the roost and observed the park’s Eastern Screech-Owl. The group was wonderfully handled by a NYC Urban Park Ranger. They kept their distance from the owl, were quiet and didn’t disturb her in the least. Her ears stayed flat the whole time the group watched them.
A few hearty souls quietly followed her after fly out and were rewarded by getting to see her preen and call.
